(a) (1) Subject to moneys appropriated by the Legislature for purposes of this section, the commission shall administer the Golden State Teacher Grant Program. Under the program, the commission shall provide one-time grant funds of up to twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) to each student enrolled, or who has applied for enrollment, on or after January 1, 2020, in a professional preparation program leading to a preliminary teaching credential or a pupil personnel services credential, at either a qualifying institution, as defined in subdivision (l) of Section 69432.7, or a professional preparation program approved by the Commission on Teaching Credentialing that has a main campus location or administrative entity that resides in California, including professional preparation programs operated by local educational agencies in California, if the student commits to working at a priority school or a California preschool program for four years within the eight years following the date the student completes the professional preparation program.

(2) Under the program, the commission shall provide one-time grant funds of up to ten thousand dollars ($10,000) to each California resident student enrolled, or who has applied for enrollment, on or after January 1, 2020, in a professional preparation program leading to a preliminary teaching credential or pupil personnel services credential at a qualified institution, as determined by the commission pursuant to Section 69617.5, if the student commits to working at a priority school or a California preschool program for four years within the eight years following the date the student completes the professional preparation program. Of the funds appropriated in support of the program, no more than 8 percent of the total funding may be allocated for the purpose of awards provided pursuant to this paragraph.

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(3) Funds appropriated for the Golden State Teacher Grant Program in the Budget Act of 2020 and the Budget Act of 2021 shall be available for encumbrance or expenditure by the commission until June 30, 2026.

(4) Grant funds shall be used to supplement and not supplant other sources of grant financial aid, and may be disbursed in more than one academic year, provided that the total amount of funds granted to an applicant does not exceed twenty thousand dollars ($20,000).

(b) The one-time grant funds issued pursuant to this section shall not exceed the amount appropriated for the Golden State Teacher Grant Program in the Budget Act of 2020 and the Budget Act of 2021.

(c) (1) A grant recipient shall agree to serve at a priority school or a California preschool program for four years and shall have eight years, upon completion of the recipient’s professional preparation program, to meet that obligation. Except as provided in paragraph (4), a grant recipient shall agree to repay the state 25 percent of the total received grant funds annually, up to full repayment of the received grant funds, for each year the recipient fails to do one or more of the following:

(A) Be enrolled in or have successfully completed a professional preparation program approved by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing.

(B) While enrolled in the professional preparation program, maintain good academic standing.

(C) Before or upon completion of the professional preparation program, satisfy the state basic skills requirement pursuant to Sections 44252 and 44252.5.

(D) Complete the required teaching service or clinical practice following completion of the recipient’s professional preparation program.

(E) Complete their teacher preparation program and earn a preliminary credential within six years after the first distribution of grant funds.

(2) Nonperformance of the commitment to serve at a priority school or a California preschool program for four years shall be certified by the commission.

(3) Nonperformance of the commitment to earn a preliminary teaching credential or pupil personnel services credential shall be certified by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to the Student Aid Commission.

(4) Any exceptions to the requirement for repayment shall be defined by the commission, and may include, but shall not necessarily be limited to, counting a school year towards the required four-year service requirement at a priority school or a California preschool program if a grant recipient is unable to complete the school year when any of the following occur:

(A) The grant recipient has completed at least one-half of the school year or preschool program year, as applicable.

(B) The employer deems the grant recipient to have fulfilled the grant recipient’s contractual requirements for the school year or preschool program year, as applicable, for purposes of salary increases, probationary or permanent status, and retirement.

(C) The grant recipient was not able to serve due to the financial circumstances of the school district, including a decision to not reelect the employee for the next succeeding school year.

(D) The grant recipient has a condition covered under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. § 2601 et seq.) or similar state law.

(E) The grant recipient was called or ordered to active duty status for more than 30 days as a member of a reserve component of the Armed Forces of the United States.

(d) The commission may use up to 1.5 percent of funding appropriated for purposes of this section for outreach and administration.

(e) The commission shall develop a process by which students interested in a professional preparation program leading to a preliminary teaching credential or a pupil personnel services credential may submit a request for a preenrollment conditional award notice from the commission. The notice shall provide information regarding the Golden State Teacher Grant Program award amount the student may be eligible to receive upon enrollment in the professional preparation program and formal application to the commission to participate in the Golden State Teacher Grant Program.

(f) (1) A “priority school” means a school with 55 percent or more of its pupils being unduplicated pupils, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 42238.02.

(2) The commission, in coordination with the State Department of Education, shall publish a list of priority schools by April 15 of each year.

(3) For purposes of satisfying the service requirement, a grant recipient may use service at a school listed on the most recent list of priority schools published by the commission that is available when the grant recipient seeks employment at a priority school. Further service at that school shall continue to satisfy the four-year service requirement, even if the school is no longer included on future priority school lists.

(g) (1) The commission may adopt regulations, including any amendments to regulations, necessary for the implementation of the Golden State Teacher Grant Program. The commission may adopt emergency regulations it deems necessary for the implementation of this program, in accordance with the rulemaking provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code). For purposes of the Administrative Procedure Act, including § 11349.6 of the Government Code, the adoption of those regulations or amendments to those regulations shall be deemed to be an emergency and necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health and safety, or general welfare, notwithstanding subdivision (e) of § 11346.1 of the Government Code.

(2) Notwithstanding any other law and without further compliance with the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code), any emergency regulations and amendments to the emergency regulations adopted pursuant to paragraph (1) shall remain in force and effect until June 30, 2025.

(3) No rule, policy, or standard of general application issued by the commission in implementing this section shall be subject to the requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code).

(h) The commission shall conduct, in partnership with the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, an evaluation of the Golden State Teacher Grant Program to determine the effectiveness of the program in recruiting credential candidates and employing credentialholders at priority schools and California preschool programs. The commission is encouraged to use qualitative and quantitative measures to quantify the number of credential candidates the program recruited into professional preparation programs, disaggregated by program and institution type, and the number of credentialholders employed at priority schools and California preschool programs, disaggregated by subject matter placement, and to describe the effects of the program on the decisions of credential candidates to enter and remain in the education field. The commission shall provide, with respect to the evaluation, a report to the Department of Finance and the appropriate fiscal and policy committees of the Legislature on or before December 31, 2025, and every two years thereafter.

(i) The commission shall accept applications for the Golden State Teacher Grant Program beginning on September 1 for the following academic year and shall establish a process and timeline that allows institutions of higher education to provide applicants with grant eligibility determinations before the deadline for enrolling in their professional preparation program.

(j) The commission shall permit grant recipients to receive funds in more than one academic year, provided the total amount of funds granted to any applicant does not exceed twenty thousand dollars ($20,000).

(k) As used in this section, “California preschool program” means a state-funded or federally funded preschool program in the state, including California state preschool programs, tribal preschool programs, and Head Start programs.

(Amended by Stats. 2023, Ch. 195, Sec. 2. (SB 142) Effective September 13, 2023.)